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She's fast

“We call her the enigma,” P.A. sprinter dashes into national rankings

Feb 7, 2019 | 2:02 PM

A high school student from Prince Albert is turning heads with her speed.

Sabine Cazeau, a 16-year-old student at École St. Mary High School is currently ranked third across Canada for the 60-metre dash for women under 18.

“When you get somebody running a sub-eight (second) 60-(metre), you know you have something special,” Arlene Town.

Cazeau recently competed in the Sled Dog Meet in Saskatoon Jan. 11 and 12, placing first in the under-18 category for the 60-metre race with a time of 7.78 seconds. Due to her exceptional performance at the meet, she was invited to the 54th Annual Knights of Columbus Indoor Games Jan. 25 and 26.

The event featured athletes from around the globe, including former Olympians and NCAA track stars. Cazeau raced in the 60-metre dash and placed seventh, finishing four-tenths of a second off of first place.

Sabine’s coach Arlene Town said Cazeau has a rare talent.

“When you get somebody running a sub-eight (second) 60-metre, you know you have something special,” Town said. She chuckled when asked what makes Cazeau a great runner.

“We call her the enigma. You wouldn’t put her in a crowd and say ‘she’s got to be the fastest.”

She said size wise, Cazeau does not possess the typical build of a sprinter being on the smaller side, but said she is all lean muscle, and as a runner, she has a very quick turnover and pushes off the ground well.

Town describes Cazeau’s character as a shy, unassuming girl who has tremendous inner self-confidence.

Sabine Cazeau has no lack of passion for the sport.

“Running is my favourite thing to do. Nothing can really describe how much I really love running,” Cazeau said. She added her start in the sport came at the Prince Albert Catholic School Track between Grades 7 and 8.

“It was the first time I ran in a race against other runners, and found out that I was really fast and I really enjoyed it.”

Not wanting to look ahead too far in her athletic career, Cazeau plans to attend track meets throughout the year, saying college and the Olympics are things that might become a reality after lots of hard work.

Although already dominant on the track, Cazeau is only in Grade 10.

When asked if Cazeau has a lot of growth potential, Town said “absolutely!”

“Sabine is also what we call, ‘a very young training age.’ This is only the second year she’s actually done any amount of specific sprinter training, which also makes her exceptional,” Town said.

Ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter:@RonaldQuaroni

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